For most organizations, hiring boils down to finding the right talent with the right skills at the right time. Unfortunately, creating a new role or filling a vacancy takes time. Slow, ineffective hiring processes cause delays or worst case, a bad placement. A clear, disciplined approach to hiring (supported by the right data, tools, and processes) ensures you get it right, every time.
When openings pop up, they might be a surprise — and if your team isn’t ready to post the position and hit the ground running, you run the risk of missing that “right time” requirement for right talent, right skills, right time.
If your job data isn’t easily accessible or is out of date, you’re setting your team up for a clunky, possibly drawn-out hiring process. For example, maybe the drafted job description is from three years ago, so it doesn’t attract the right candidates. The hiring manager may not be clear on their budget for a specific role or be unsure if the proposed budget is truly aligned with the candidate’s skill set. Of course, with any prolonged opening, the hiring manager is extra busy because they have to do their own work plus the work not being accomplished because of the vacancy. Moving quickly to get a job posted means you’ll find the right talent faster.
The secret to always being ready to start hiring? Keep your job data fresh and your internal processes smooth.
Whether you are an HR business partner, recruiter, or compensation analyst, it is important to connect with hiring managers and get questions answered.
Develop an internal process where recruiters, aligned HR partners, and perhaps others in HR operations (like a compensation analyst) have successful handoffs of their action items in preparing a job opening for recruiting.
Remember that your job postings’ listed skills, requirements, and compensation range are all representations of your employer brand. If the job posting or description on file is ~five years old, it probably needs a refresh before you cast the net within and outside your organization. The job market moves quickly, so before sharing anything with potential applicants, it’s essential to evaluate the job data and refresh as needed. Utilizing a resource like JDXpert helps you speed up the process of creating an accurate, active posting because it allows you to build one full-picture, governed job library. If job data is strewn across multiple systems, it takes precious time to gather and update it all every time you need to post a new opening.
Ensure the role’s pricing is aligned with your compensation philosophy, as well as the market. Current employees performing at a successful level in the same or similar role offer a good internal benchmark for where you may find new talent and at roughly what cost. External benchmark comparisons ensure you meet marketplace expectations and hit the competitive mark when making an offer. Market pricing tools like BetterComp centralize survey data, model pay ranges by family and location, and flag gaps instantly. To really speed up your job-posting prep, use JDXpert and BetterComp in tandem to keep your job data and compensation information updated, accurate, and at the ready. BetterComp’s partnership with JDXPert fuses structured job data and market pricing intelligence into a single system of entry that snaps into any HRIS, without skipping a beat.
Provide simple, intuitive, easy-access tools that connect decision makers throughout. Hold brief weekly sessions to connect on open requisitions, candidate slates, job content, and grading to identify and remove any blockages in the talent pipeline.
All in all, while creating this process may be bumpy at first, if you stick with it, the ecosystem will thrive. Hiring effectively means that:
Recruiting, onboarding, and retaining employees can feel like a rollercoaster, but you can keep the ride exciting and fun if your team is prepared. Relying on fresh data and maintaining clear, streamlined workflows helps avoid delays and inconsistencies. By aligning on timelines, utilizing automated systems where possible, and keeping documentation organized, you can minimize confusion and reduce time-to-post — which helps you add the right talent to your team at the right time.